Man Jailed After 6-Hour Standoff

A 39-year-old Ventura man is awaiting arraignment in County Jail, where he is being held on suspicion of spousal abuse and assault with a deadly weapon after a six-hour standoff with police that ended early Wednesday.

Police were called to the 3000 block of Channel Drive in Ventura about 10 p.m. Tuesday after Mark Gregory Conroy allegedly shot out the rear window of his wife’s car after the two had argued and while she was leaving the home, said Sgt. Gary McCaskill, a spokesman for the Ventura Police Department.

Police tried to talk to Conroy for almost two hours, but he did not answer the telephone. The department’s SWAT team was called in and evacuated Conroy’s neighbors, McCaskill said.

Francesca Quijada, who lives next door, said she and her husband left their house after midnight.

“They had asked us to leave for our safety,” Quijada said.

She said she could not recall the police ever having been at the Conroy home in the past. Although Conroy was on probation for a drunk driving conviction in December, court records show no other convictions.

“I’ve know him since he was 4 years old; he grew up next door and he’s always been a nice boy,” Quijada said.

About 4 a.m. Conroy surrendered to police after the SWAT team shot canisters of tear gas into the home, officials said.

Conroy told police that he did not surrender because he was asleep during the standoff, and that he was drunk when he argued with his wife, McCaskill said.

Conroy is scheduled to be arraigned Friday on charges of spousal abuse and assault with a firearm, a jail spokeswoman said. His bail is set at $20,000.